SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket For Israel Moon Landing Mission

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket For Israel Moon Landing Mission

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". These were the words quoted when Neil Armstrong from the USA stepped on Moon for the first time. But, Neil Armstrong fine-tuned the quote "That's one small step for a man.." in his last words. The recent space news on Moon confirmed his words.

In the row of nations that marched to the Moon, Isreal will be joining soon after its unmanned spacecraft launch in December 2018 using Space X Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Following the USA, Russia and China were the other two countries succeeded in the moon landing missions so far.

The spacecraft which is the smallest one to be sent ever (585 kg) is yet to be named and is expected to land on February 13, 2019. SpaceIL CEO Anteby said that the organisation will put the Israeli flag on the Moon. The spacecraft has 2 meters diameter with a height of about 1.5 meters and its image has been unveiled on SpaceIL's official Twitter page.

The cameras inbuilt in the spacecraft shall be taking pictures and videos of the moon's surface and its magnetometer measures the moon's magnetic field. The project took almost eight years with an expenditure of $95 million till now, revealed by the trusted sources from Israel.

Apart from this, ISRO had also announced its plan to explore the southern side of the moon for nuclear fuel Helium-3 in its second lunar mission. Astronauts shall be sent to the Moon by China in 2036 and Russia have plans to send cosmonauts to the Moon.